In Western astrology, it's a constellation determined by when your birthday falls in the calendar.

在西方的占星學中，那是個取決於生日落在幾月幾日的星座。

But according to the Chinese zodiac, or shēngxiào, it's your shǔxiàng, meaning the animal assigned to your birth year.

但根據中國的十二宮圖，或稱「生肖」，那是你的屬相，指的就是對應你出生年份的動物。

And of the many myths explaining these animal signs and their arrangement, the most enduring one is that of the Great Race.

在解釋這些生肖動物由來和排列順序的眾多傳說中，最被接受的說法就是十二生肖渡河比賽。

As the story goes, Yù Dì, or Jade Emperor, Ruler of the Heavens, wanted to devise a way to measure time, so he organized a race.

故事中，掌管天宮的玉皇大帝想設計一種計算時間的方法，所以祂舉辦了一場比賽。

The first twelve animals to make it across the river would earn a spot on the zodiac calendar in the order they arrived.

最先渡河的前十二隻動物可以在十二宮圖中依順序分別占有一席。

The rat rose with the sun to get an early start, but on the way to the river, he met the horse, the tiger, and the ox.

為了早點出發，老鼠在太陽一升起就起床了，但在前往河邊的路上，他遇到了馬、老虎和牛。

Because the rat was small and couldn't swim very well, he asked the bigger animals for help.

因為老鼠身形小，也不是很會游泳，他便尋求身形較大的動物幫忙。

While the tiger and horse refused, the kind-hearted ox agreed to carry the rat across.

雖然老虎和馬拒絕了，好心的牛卻答應載老鼠過河。

Yet, just as they were about to reach the other side, the rat jumped off the ox's head and secured first place.

但是當他們快抵達河的另一端時，老鼠就跳下牛的頭，搶下了第一名的位置。

The ox came in second, with the powerful tiger right behind him.

牛則排第二，強壯的老虎緊接在後。

The rabbit, too small to battle the current, nimbly hopped across stones and logs to come in fourth.

身形小而處於劣勢難以橫渡水流的兔子，敏捷地跳過石頭和樹木搶下第四名。

Next came the dragon, who could have flown directly across, but stopped to help some creatures she had encountered on the way.

再來是原先可以直接飛越過河的龍，但她卻在中途停下，幫忙幾隻她遇到的動物。

After her came the horse, galloping across the river.

在她後面是匆匆過河的馬。

But just as she got across, the snake slithered by.

但就在她抵達河岸時，蛇輕盈地溜過。

The startled horse reared back, letting the snake sneak into sixth place.

受到驚嚇的馬往後一仰，讓蛇偷偷地搶下第六名。

The Jade Emperor looked out at the river and spotted the sheep, the monkey, and the rooster all atop a raft, working together to push it through the weeds.

玉皇大帝望向河畔，看見羊、猴子和公雞坐在木筏上，一起合力滑過雜草。

When they made it across, the trio agreed to give eighth place to the sheep, who had been the most comforting and harmonious of them, followed by the monkey and the rooster.

過河後，牠們三個同意將第八名給羊，因為牠是當中最溫和的，再來是猴子和公雞。

Next came the dog, scrambling onto the shore.

接下來是爬上岸的狗。

He was a great swimmer, but frolicked in the water for so long that he only managed to come in eleventh.

他很會游泳，但在水裡嬉戲花了太多時間，只搶下第十一名。

The final spot was claimed by the pig, who had gotten hungry and stopped to eat and nap before finally waddling across the finish line.

最後一位則是豬，中途因為餓了停下來吃東西和小睡，最後才搖搖擺擺跨過了終點線。

And so, each year is associated with one of the animals in this order, with the cycle starting over every 60 years.

所以，每一年都安排了一隻動物，每 60 年重覆一個循環。

Why 60 and not twelve?

為什麼是 60 而不是 12 呢？

Well, the traditional Chinese calendar is made up of two overlapping systems.

因為傳統的中國曆法是由兩種系統重疊組成的。

The animals of the zodiac are associated with what's called the Twelve Earthly Branches, or shí'èrzhī.

十二宮圖的動物跟所謂的十二地支相關連。

Another system, the Ten Heavenly Stems, or tiāngān, is linked with the five classical elements of metal, jīn, wood, mù, water, shuǐ, fire, huǒ, and earth, tǔ.

另一個系統， 十天干，則是連結著五種傳統元素，金、木、水、火以及土。

Each element is assigned yīn or yáng, creating a ten-year cycle.

每個元素都有分派陰或是陽，以十年為一循環。

When the twelve animals of the Earthly Branches are matched with the five elements plus the yīn or the yáng of the Heavenly Stems, it creates 60 years of different combinations, known as a sexagenary cycle, or gānzhī.

當由十二隻動物排列的地支搭配五種元素，再加上天干的陰陽，就創造出共 60 年的不同組合，也就是 60 個為一循環的干支。

So someone born in 1980 would have the sign of yáng metal monkey, while someone born in 2007 would be yīn fire pig.

所以在 1980 年生的人就是屬陽金猴，而 2007 年生的人則是陰火豬。

In fact, you can also have an inner animal based on your birth month, a true animal based on your birth date, and a secret animal based on your birth hour.

其實，你還會有根據你出生月分的內在動物、根據出生日的正式動物以及根據出生時辰的隱性動物。

It was the great race that supposedly determined which animals were enshrined in the Chinese zodiac, but as the system spread through Asia, other cultures made changes to reflect their communities.

這就是所謂的渡河比賽，它決定了哪幾隻動物要排在中國生肖的十二宮道圖中，隨著這個系統傳遍亞洲，其他文化為了反映當地社會習俗便做了些修改。

So if you consult the Vietnamese zodiac, you may discover that you're a cat, not a rabbit, and if you're in Thailand, a mythical snake called a Naga replaces the dragon.

所以如果你查閱越南的十二宮道圖你可能會發現你屬貓，而不是兔；如果你在泰國，傳說中稱為「那伽」的蛇則取代龍的位置。

So whether or not you place stock in what the zodiac says about you as an individual, it certainly reveals much about the culture it comes from.

不管你是否相信十二宮道圖中自己的屬性，它都展露出了該文化的特點。